No place for complacency during cyclone season

By Nathalie Fernbach and ABC North Qld team

Despite a neutral weather pattern forecast for this summer north Queenslanders cannot afford to become complacent about cyclones, that was the message coming out of this year's Cyclone Sunday Emergency Expo in Strand Park.

Mayor Jenny Hill says events such as Hurricane Sandy and Cyclone Yasi illustrate just how unpredictable and damaging storms can be.

"I have lived here for 30 years I have seen a number of cyclones pass us, clip us, and you speak to many people and they seem to become a little bit complacent thinking you know 'we will never be hit by a cyclone'" she says.

Councillor Hill says some north Queenslanders don't realise that the storm surge associated with cyclones can be just as dangerous as the storm that brought it.

During Cyclone Yasi people who had been ordered to evacuate but did not were later calling on emergency services for help recalls Cr Hill.

"When we tell you to leave an area when we make the evacuation a directed evacuation that is because we are very concerned for your life, don't muck around, try and get out of the area, find somewhere else safe to go and don't become a burden for emergency services during the event."

Councillor Hill says residents in north Queensland seem to be better prepared than their counterparts in the far north.

A James Cook University report on Cyclone Yasi says 43 percent of Townsville residents felt they were prepared for the event, compared to 21 percent of Cairns residents.

"So we are getting the message out there. But from my perspective I want 100 percent of the community ready" says Cr Hill.